Untitled
Norman Lewis
American, 1909–1979
1949
An oil painting in which Norman Lewis builds layered, vertical strokes and ghosted marks to suggest movement, memory, and elusive figures rather than a literal scene.
At first glance a dusky field of browns and grays resolves into vertical striations and smudged ovals, with a warm pinkish form at the center that seems to breathe through a veil of scumbled paint.
Created in 1949, this work shows how Lewis expanded Abstract Expressionism by combining lyrical, calligraphic surfaces with hints of human and urban presence, opening the movement to more coded, socially resonant meanings.
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
26 7/8 x 31 7/8" (68.3 x 81 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of The Friends of Education of The Museum of Modern Art
Accession
529.1998
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
